“Pu Ban is an excellent place.”
“In Pu Ban city, the air is especially fresh, and the soil is incomparably fertile; including the abundant natural resources, the people there are all marvelous, you can meet people from all the clans there.”
“In Pu Ban city, you can find all kinds of treasures that existed in the world; you can get to know every clan there; you can meet brave warriors who are powerful enough to pull a mountain up from the ground, as well as exceedingly gentle and beautiful girls. In Pu Ban city, the strongest warriors can find the best weapons in the world, and the most beautiful woman will get the most shining jewelry.”
“Pu Ban City is a wonderful place, the air there is filled with the fragrances of hundreds of kinds of flowers.”
“Pu Ban City is a great place, in that city, even if you were to randomly throw a handful of seeds on the ground, you will have a good harvest in the autumn.”
“Pu Ban City is a nice place, young men there have minds broad as the sky. Only if you are a real man, you should go to Pu Ban city, you will meet countless good friends and brothers in that city.”
“Pu Ban City is really a good place, girls in that city have come from everywhere in the world; in that city, you can find passionate girls from the Southern Wasteland, friendly and unconstrained girls from the Eastern Wasteland, cute and lovely girls from the Northern Wasteland and gentle girls filled with warmth from the Western Wasteland.”
“All in all, Pu Ban City is a stunning place, not a single city can compare with Pu Ban City. As a human being, especially a man, if you spend your entire life time in this a small and declining clan in this Southern Wasteland, and not go to the Pu Ban city and have a look at the real world, that will be a huge shame.”
All the above were said to Ji Hao by Si Wen Ming.
Ever since he had witnessed that Ji Hao transformed the Yuan Dan into a Golden Dan, passed the lightning trial, and all the other abnormal things that had happened with Ji Hao, he had started trying his best to describe the bests of Po Ban City, encouraging Ji Hao to fearlessly walk out of the Southern Wasteland, go to Pu Ban with him, and see the real world.
Excluding Man Man who was a bit muddled, Si Wen Ming, and even Ji Hao himself, had an understanding that was as clear as an ice mirror, of what had happened to Ji Hao - Both of them were clearly aware of that such things like improving one’s power to a certain point, that even had drawn out the lightning trial, was not that rare in the Southern Wasteland and other lands in the world.
However, what kind of people were qualified to draw the lightning trial out?
Spirits living in the jungle, who had been practicing their powers for over ten thousand years; when they were about to completely transform into human shapes, the negative, even evil power contained in their bodies, which had been accumulating over ten thousand years, would suddenly burst out, clashing against the positive natural power and draw the lightning trial.
Or peak-level Junior level Magi; when they were about to open their very first Magus Acupoint, the vast natural power would gush into the newly awoken acupoint and the intense movement and strikes of the natural power would probably cause the entire surrounding world to shake, naturally, the lightning trial would fall down from the sky, strengthen their bodies and purify their powers.
Only the tens of thousand years old spirits and Senior Magi were qualified to draw the lighting trial out, but Ji Hao was only a new Junior Magus who had just activated his bloodline power. Ji Hao had drawn the lightning trial out, and somehow possessed the massive powers that were all exceeding the limitation of his inherited bloodline power.
Si Wen Ming believed that Ji Hao would have an amazingly bright future. However, Ji Hao wasn't prepared to just ‘sell’ himself to this man at such a ‘low price’.
Therefore, although during the journey, Si Wen Ming had been talking all the way about how great the Pu Ban city was, seemingly even going to spat a few lotus out of his mouth, Ji Hao had only been nodding his head and responding with ‘yes, yes’, expressing his boundless longing and yearning to go to the Pu Ban city, but he just wouldn’t tell Si Wen Ming for sure if whether he was planning to go to Pu Ban City with Si Wen Ming or not.
Looking at Si Wen Ming, whose face was filled with depression, which he didn’t even try to hide, Ji Hao’s facial expression was as calm as the peaceful ocean, but inside his head, he had been madly laughing for quite a while.
“Emperor Shun, Emperor Shun...Yao Chong Hua, the Emperor Shun...hehe, Si Wen Ming!”
During the journey, Ji Hao had been carefully observing Si Wen Ming; he only felt this name was very familiar, but had absolutely no clue about why; however, after Si Wen Ming abruptly mentioned the title of the Emperor Shun and Shun’s real name, Yao Chong Hua, Ji Hao came up with an extremely unbelievable guess about Si Wen Ming.
Was this man the same Si Wen Ming as he was thinking?
“Uncle Wen Ming, we have traveled for days, and you have talked so much about Pu Ban, what do you do in that city? I’m so curious,” said Ji Hao. From a long distance, he could see an area of mountain ridges, which was the location of the Cold Stream Valley. Ji Hao couldn’t hold his curiosity back anymore, so he popped a question up to Si Wen Ming.
If this man was really the same Si Wen Ming as he was thinking, then he shouldn’t just be carrying a long sword and traveling around the Southern Wasteland jungle with a chubby pigeon.
“Me?” Si Wen Ming had been lying on the back of the buffalo, holding both of his hands behind his head, with a long grass in his mouth, staring at the rolling dark clouds in the sky, and the lightning bolts flashing across the air from time to time.
“I’m just an unoccupied person. I want to do some useful things, but I don’t know where to start,” sighed Si Wen Ming and continued, “I think I can only try my best. Hm, from the South to the North, I traveled everywhere. I don’t even know if it's useful or not, but there are some things in the world, which I can’t allow to remain like that any more.”
Si Wen Ming clinched his own fists, then seriously and firmly said to Ji Hao, “Some things in this world are not right. They can’t see and they don’t care, but these things cannot continue to remain like that, so I want to do something to help change the world, even if what I’m doing is completely useless.”
After that he took a handful of wild millets out of his sleeves, fed them to the pigeon that had been standing on his shoulder all this time, and said smilingly, “As for this pigeon...ha, I found out that pigeons have a magical ability, they rarely lose directions, and can fly for a very long time. I’ve been considering about what this pigeon could do.”
“Deliver messages!” Ji Hao smiled and said.
“Deliver messages?” said Man Man. She then laughed out and continued, “Ji Hao, there are many powerful large birds that can be a lot more useful as messenger than this fat bird. Not to mention that messengers working for Abba are all Magus Kings, what could a fat bird like this do?”
Ji Hao opened his mouth and looked at Man Man in shock, and didn’t know how to respond.
“Send messages?!” Unlike Man Man, Si Wen Meng’s eyes suddenly shone, he then slowly nodded, seemingly planning something in his head, then smiled and said, “That is a good idea. Hm, for some weak small-scale clans, and some certain situations and places, Magus Kings can be less reliable than a bird. Send messages...”
Large groups of wild beasts carrying Ji Hao, Man Man and Si Wen Ming, were slowly approaching the Cold Stream Valley.
In ordinary days, one would meet the Fire Crow Clan’s patrol at tens of miles away from the Cold Stream Valley; however, they didn’t meet a single person from the Fire Crow Clan all the way.
Ji Hao’s heart started sinking. He subconsciously patted the riding beast’s head and speeded up, rushing towards the Cold Stream Valley. Si Wen Ming’s expression slightly changed, speeded up and darted towards the Cold Stream Valley as well.
Inside the Cold Stream Valley, a handsome young man, who was wearing a luxurious, red long cloak, made of golden silk, riding on the back of a fiery kylin[1], with his head held high, floating in the air tens of Zhangs from the ground, and looked down at those Fire Crow Clan’s clansmen, who were standing in the Cold Stream Valley.
Tens of thousands of Fire Crow Clan’s warriors had gathered together in the valley. Every single one of them had been staring at the young man with a serious and raging face.
The Cold Stream Valley had been deadly quiet, although the tens of thousands of Fire Crow Clan’s warriors were obviously filled with indignation, no one dare to make even the slightest sound.
Tens of sturdy warriors were riding on the fiery flood dragons, held all kinds of weapons and wearing red armours, with bodies wrapped by blazing clouds of flames, had been staring at those Fire Crow Clan’s warriors with unfriendly eyes.
Ji Zhou and Ji Xia were kneeling on the ground, tightly bound with thumb-thick, red chains.
Ji Xia had been beaten hard, had even a bloody nose and a swollen face. On his back, small flames were blazing around tens of bone-deep whipping wounds.
The young man, who had been riding on a fiery kylin’s back, was looking at Ji Xia with a mocking smile, and said slowly,
“The little bastard of your Fire Crow Clan got our master’s youngest daughter, Man Man, killed. For this, all of you have to die!”
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[1]Kylin: The Kylin (Chinese: 麒麟; pinyin: qílín) is a mythical hooved chimerical creature, known in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. It is a good omen thought to occasion prosperity or serenity. It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. Qilin generally have Chinese dragon-like features. The body is fully or partially scaled and often shaped like an ox, deer, or horse. Always shown with cloven hooves. In modern times, the depictions of qilin have often fused with the Western concept of unicorns.